My hands tightly gripped the chain, but they were growing weaker.

I used my last ounce of strength to command it to bind my wrists together.

As soon as it was done, the chain became inert.

I was now hanging from the branch, arms raised and legs a few meters away from the creature waiting below the tree. If the branch didn't break before then, I just had to wait until dawn to find a way out. That is, if the Drifter decided to leave.

The sales screen was displayed in front of me.

I thought that selling the sword could wait, but I was wrong, and I realized it when I felt a vibration.

The Drifter was climbing the tree, plunging his fists into the trunk with such force that each strike left a gaping hole.

Panic started to creep in.

I no longer had the strength to do anything.

I needed to sell that sword as quickly as possible.

I asked the screen to position itself just below me and shook my body to make the sword fall into the sales square.

"A little more..." I felt the blade begin to slide along my back. But I also saw the creature almost at my level, ready to pounce on me.

I frantically shook my body, like an insect caught in a spider's web.

Suddenly, the blade slipped towards the sales square.

It vanished, engulfed by the system.

One more step remained; now the sword had to earn me enough PP to level up.

My debt bar showed 54/190. I still needed 136 PP to reach the next level.

"Given the power of this creature, it should be enough," I thought, looking up at the sky, too afraid to glance at the creature or my screen.

Then I lowered my gaze to check. "TWO-HANDED DRIFTER SWORD! 200 PP."

"I convert my PP into DP!" I exclaimed without even having time to rejoice.

In an instant, I felt my body ready for battle once again.

I released my hands and quickly climbed up to the branch above me.

I saw the Drifter watching me climb, then he started climbing again too, using the strength of his fists. But I reached my branch before him and threw my chain towards a nearby tree branch, then I jumped. Swinging from tree to tree was once again a viable option.

I had enough EP to stay out of danger until sunrise, especially if I reduced the energy consumption of my chains with my talent points.

From my new branch, I observed the Drifter dropping and then running to my new tree.

He wouldn't give up.

He planted his fists into the trunk to climb.

On closer inspection, I realized he was vulnerable when he did that.

"If I immobilize his fists while they're in the tree, I can easily make him fall," I thought.

I let the end of my chain float above his head, and as soon as he had both fists deep in the tree, I made my chain zigzag between his wrists.

My chain formed a figure-eight, like handcuffs.

I tightened it enough to make escape near impossible for him.

He struggled despite it all.

Suddenly, he did something I hadn't taken into account—he let himself fall backward.

His immense weight threatened to pull me down, and I didn't have time to loosen my chain.

I let go and watched the creature fall with my only means of survival.

I had made a big mistake.

I could have kept running, but I wanted to secure my safety by immobilizing him.

I saw the creature resume his climb after throwing the chain on the ground.

I couldn't descend to retrieve it without the Drifter catching up to me before I could do anything.

And I couldn't climb higher or change trees without my chain.

I had to remain calm.

Yes, a hideous creature was climbing the tree to devour me, and I had no means of defending myself.

But fear sought to paralyze me and prevent me from thinking.

I slapped myself to regain my composure. "I still have my little chain," I thought, bringing my hand to my neck.

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Its size didn't allow me to do much, but on the other hand, its energy consumption was minimal.

I looked around for something to hang onto.

The nearest trees were several meters away, impossible to jump to. And if I fell from here, the impact would shatter my bones.

"I would become minced meat... but at least I would be easier to eat," I thought, trying to inject some humor into my situation.

Looking down, on the other side of the tree trunk I was on, I saw some large branches.

"If I manage to fall and use my little chain to hang onto the branches, I could surprise the Drifter and retrieve my chain before he can reach me," I thought.

I decided to allocate the four talent points I had earned to increase the durability of my chain to level 5. It was the only way to improve my chances of success.

With that done, the only remaining issue was whether my reactions and chain would be fast enough.

But doubting was a luxury I couldn't afford—I had to act quickly.

I fixed my gaze on the branch I had to jump to. It was a few meters below. Too far to land on, but close enough to grab with my hands.

I wrapped my chain around my wrist and leaped.

I had chosen a branch that was opposite from where the Drifter was climbing, hoping he wouldn't notice my movements right away and buying me some time.

I jumped and let myself fall while extending my hand towards the branch below.

My hand hit the wood, and my chain followed, managing to catch on slightly, but not enough.

I continued falling, with the chain slightly cushioning my descent.

This time, I was falling towards another branch, the last one before the ground.

I placed my joined hands on it and secured them with the chain, as if I had handcuffs.

I raised my arms and brought them down as if delivering a powerful blow towards the branch.

I managed to slide the chain along the leafless section of the branch.

I saw the piece of wood bear the weight of my fall, bending slightly before returning to its original shape. My arms were raised, and my small chain had successfully supported my weight.

I released the chain and dropped the remaining few meters to the ground.

The Drifter was about to pounce on me any second now, once he realized I wasn't up there anymore. "Where's my chain?" I thought.

Then I spotted it, just a yard away.

I ran towards it and grabbed it.

The next moment, the earth trembled.

The Drifter had let himself fall.

His weight unleashed a shockwave that threw off my balance.

Before falling, I threw my chain towards the nearest branch and hoisted myself up.

The Drifter removed his feet from the two holes he had made in the ground, then, instead of climbing, he began pounding the base of the tree.

I clung to my chain, watching him.

"He's a fool; he had a better chance of catching me by climbing..." I thought.

I didn't complain, though—his change in strategy was in my favor.

I climbed up to my branch and quickly opened my profile.

I had 30/48 EP. It was more than enough to stay alive, as long as he didn't try anything unexpected.

The tree started trembling more and more under his strikes. It felt like his fists were more effective than his sword at felling a tree.

"What power," I thought.

The tree trunk had a circumference of several meters, and it was already on the verge of collapsing.

This Drifter must have been a Brute before losing his mind.

But by striking only on one side, the tree would fall on him.

He probably planned to move at the last moment to avoid being crushed.

That gave me a new idea. "If I attach him to the tree as it falls, I can crush him." It was tempting.

If I succeeded, I would earn enough DP to level up once again and eliminate this threat in the process. But if I failed, my life would be at stake.

I had escaped death several times already; it was my lucky day.

I had to go all the way.

I attached my chain to the sturdy base of the branch I was on, then I let myself hang not far from the Drifter.

I placed the chain across my shoulders, from one arm to the other, letting one end dangle.

I waited for the moment the tree would begin to fall to grab my enemy.

A minute or two later, the tree swayed dangerously.

That didn't stop the Drifter from continuing to strike with undiminished force.

He didn't seem to have any endurance problems.

"I hope he doesn't have unlimited HP," I thought.

As the tree started to topple, I let my chain slide over the Drifter's shoulders.

It wound around him in a zigzag pattern, reaching his ankles.

He pulled his fists out of the trunk and tried to remove the chain.

At that moment, I began pushing both sides of my chain with all my strength to force the tree to fall.

The wood started to crack.

The final piece that kept this massive bundle of wood upright was about to give way.

The Drifter stopped struggling and looked up. His eyes were wide open.

I didn't know what emotion was displayed on his face, but it was a reaction, the first one.

Then he started running to get out of the tree's falling path.

His movements made the tree sway even more, following his course. And a final cracking sound echoed. The tree finally fell.

The chain restricted his movements, but he was so powerful that he managed to run despite it all.

The links held firm, but I worried that the branch might crack under the creature's immense force.

The chain passed over my back, both of my hands holding it.

I pressed my feet against the tree and pulled the chain to bring the Drifter closer to the tree.

I, too, was within the falling zone, but I had time to jump.

I waited for the last moment.

I gave one final command to my chain before letting myself drop out of harm's way.

Immediately, the chain stopped pulling the Drifter towards the tree and redirected its force to bring his two feet together, causing him to stumble.

I leaped and released my chain.

At the same moment, the enormous tree crashed down with all its weight onto the Drifter.

The impact of this several-ton trunk crashing against the dry earth raised a mountain of dust and leaves. It felt like an explosion had just occurred.

As I fell from the tree, I felt a sharp pain in my ankle.

I had sprained something in the fall.

I wasn’t sure if I could run.

I raised my head, and there was dust everywhere, obscuring my vision.

I opened my screen and focused on it while searching the ground to see if I could retrieve my chain. Sweat dripped down my forehead.

If he wasn't dead after this, there would be no way for me to defeat him.

I heard creaking sounds all around me.

And the screen still showed nothing.

Was he still alive?

Was that even possible?

But when the dust settled, it wasn’t the Drifter that appeared.

Dozens of roots, varying in size, were approaching me in a menacing manner.

They all shared the same brown color and shape.

The shape that resembled monstrous fingers.

They weren’t approaching to tap me on the back for my victory.

No, they had only one objective: to tear me apart.